This invention relates to electrolytic apparatuses in general, and, more particularly, to electrolytic apparatuses for extracting metal from metal salts in solution by causing the electrolytic deposition of free metal upon the cathode structure.
One application of such electrolytic apparatuses has been the removal of silver from photographic solutions such as hypo solutions. In such apparatuses it is common to provide a rotatable cathode structure so that the surface of the cathode structure can be maintained in constant motion with respect to the hypo solution, thereby providing for the uniform deposition of the silver on the survade of the cathode structure and to prevent the accumulation of reaction products in the hypo solution in the vicinity of the cathode.
One type of prior art cathode structure comprises a rotatable shaft extending into the solution and a plurality of flat discs mounted on said shaft in parallel spaced relation along the length thereof. The entire assembly is electrically conductive and acts as the cathode for the electrolytic process, silver being deposited on all surfaces thereof. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,458,425.
In structures of the prior art, extraction rates are commonly very low, and several extractors are frequently necessary when large amounts of solution are processed. Hence, it is apparent that the increase in the extraction rate would eliminate unnecessary units and would result in improved efficiency.